Tilt tray



A ril 19, 1960 Filed Nov. 20, 1957 E. W. HAMMER, JR

TILT TRAY 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

EDMOND W. HAMMER JR.

April 19, 1960 E. w. HAMMER, JR 2,933,020

, TILT TRAY Filed Nov. 20, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2

IN V EN TOR.

EDMOND W. HAMMER JR.

w amlmcpzamzg wi wh April 19, 1960 E. w. HAMMER, JR

TILT TRAY 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 20, 1957 INVENTOR. EDMOND W.HAMMER JR.

BY I Q2. amd, A9 4}. W

April 19, 1960 E. w. HAMMER, JR

TILT TRAY 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 20, 1957 2. mm 6 z INVENTOR.EDMOND W. HAMMER JR. BY azaWa M} 4 wardly in the process of being loadedoh the tray. In-

asmuch as the convex surfaces of the tray and finger define a circularsegment of more than 180 degrees, it is obvious that movement of theround in a lateral direction would be prevented when the finger is heldin a normal fixed position relative to the tray, as shown in Figures 3and 8 of the drawings. A leaf spring 23 is mounted on the tray 11 is amanner to engage one end 25 of the finger and bias the finger to anormal round engaging position. A stop 27 is provided on the tray forengaging the finger within a slot 29 provided in the end 25 of thefinger thereby to limit rotative movement of the finger in the onedirection. Rotativemovement in the opposite direction is limited bymovement of the spring 23 but is suificient to allow the round to clearthe tray and finger as it rolls onto the rammer trough once the fingeris released by the locking means.

In order to prevent rearward movement of the round once it is loaded onthe tray or cradle 11, there is provided a retractable member 31 locatedat the rear portion of the cradle. The retractable member or stopcomprises a detent which is mounted for slidable movement within asleeve member 33 carried by the cradle and disposed in a positionwhereby the detent is capable of movement in directions, toward and awayfrom the arcuate axis of the cradle, in the manner more particularlyshown in Figure 6 of the drawings. A spring member 35 is located withinthe sleeve which functions to bias the detent to a normal positionextending outwardly of the sleeve through an opening 37 in the cradle.The free end 39 of the detent is rounded for the purpose of cooperationwith the external surface 24 of the round which will cause it to retractwithin the sleeve as the round is moved forwardly onto the cradle. Oncethe round has assumed a loaded position on the tray, the base 41 of theround will be located immediately forward of the retractable member andthe latter will be forced outwardly from the sleeve by the spring 35 toserve as a stop thereby preventing rearward movement of the round.

The cradle or tray is pivotally mounted for movement between a normalammunition-receiving or loading position, as shown in Figure 3 of thedrawings and a delivery or release position, as shown in Figure 4 of thedrawings. The tray is so disposed in the normal loading position thatthe center of gravity of the combined masses of the ammunition and thecradle or tray is located on that side of a vertical plane passingthrough the pivotal axis of the tray toward the delivery position of thetray and above a horizontal plane passing through that axis. Thus, itwill be observed that, unless the cradle is held in a fixed positionwhile in the loading position, the weight of the combined masses wouldbe sufiicient to rotate the cradle from the loading position to thedelivery position. In order to influence return of the cradle to itsnormal loading position, a spring member 43 is provided and connected inany conven ent manner between one of the brackets 13 and the cradle, asshown in Figure 7 of the drawings. The cradle spring 43 is so arrangedtthat it is constantly under tension and, upon movement of the cradle tothe delivery position, the tension will be increased. The parameters ofthe cradle spring are so selected that they will influence the cradle toreturn to its normal loading position after delivery of the ammunitionround to the ramming trough but they are not sufiicient as to overcomethe additional weight of the round while it is disposed upon the cradleof the tilt tray apparatus.

In order to limit rotation of the cradle beyond in tended limits of theloading and delivery positions it is essential to provide suitablestops. In order to limit rotative movement of the cradle beyond theload-receiving position, a stop 45 is provided in any convenient manneron one of the brackets 13 which will engage the cradle and arrestfurther movement thereof beyond the intended load-receiving position, asshown in Figure 4 7 of the drawings. In order to restrict the cradleagainst movement beyond the intended delivery position, there isprovided another stop 47 disposed in any convenient manner on one of thebrackets 13 which will engage the cradle and arrest movement thereofbeyond the intended delivery position, as shown in Figures 4 and 7 ofthe drawings.

The pivotal axis of the cradle is provided by a shaft 49 journaled inthe brackets 13 attached to the rammer casting, as more particularlyshown in Figure 9 of the drawings. The cradleis provided with aplurality of arms 51 which extend downwardly therefrom each arm havingan opening 53 adjacent to the lower ends thereof.

A sleeve 55 is mounted within each of the openings and the respectivesleeves are disposed in axial alignment in order to receive the pivotalshaft 4? which extends through all of the sleeve members. The sleevesare disposed in spaced apart relation along the shaft and in spacedapart relation to the brackets in such positions as to allow freedom ofmovement of the cradle together with the pivot shaft in axial directionsand relative to the brackets. A resilient member 57 is provided betweenthe sleeves immediately forward of each bracket and the bracket tofunction as a buffer member. On the opposide side of each bracket acompression spring 59 is provided on the pivot shaft between the rearportion of the bracket and the next adjacent sleeve disposed to the rearof the bracket. The compression springs function to bias the shaft 49together With the cradle mounted thereon in a rearward direction limitedonly by the resilient members disposed between the bracket and thesleeve members immediately forward of the brackets.

With this arrangement, it will be observed that any force which tends todrive the cradle forwardly, such as a force imparted by loading anammunition round on the cradle when such round is restricted againstforward movement by the concave surfaces of the finger 19 and the tray11, will tend to drive the cradle and pivot shaft forwardly against thecompression springs 59. Such a forwardly driving force will be opposedby the compression springs and the compression springs will tend toreturn the cradle and the pivot shaft to its normal position, as shownin Figure 9 of the drawings. Thus, the arrangement effects a bufferaction which has the advantage of preventing damage to the ammunitionround as well as the loading device.

The loading device is provided with a releasable locking arrangement forlocking the cradle and finger in the normal load-receiving position. Thereleasable locking means comprises a pair of rods 61, 63 which areslidably carried by extensions or arms 65 attached in convenient mannerto the cradle. In the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings one 61of the rods is distending into an opening 69 provided in a forwardbracket 71 also carried by the cradle. The rearward ends 73, 75 of eachshaft are connected by a suitable handle 77. A compressionspring 79, 81is disposed on each shaft 61, 63 between a sleeve member 33, 85 attachedto each shaft and an adjacent extension 65, in the manner particularlyshown in Figures land 9 of the drawings. The compression springsfunction to bias the shafts in a forward direction. The forward ends ofthe shafts are tapered, as at 87 in Figure 10 of the drawings, tofacilitate inserting the ends into openings provided respectively in thefinger-and cradle members when the loading device is disposed in thenormal load-receiving position. Thus, the ends of the shaft will preventthe cradle and the finger from rotating about their respective pivotalaxes until the shafts are withdrawn sufliciently to release the parts.

,From the foregoing, it will be observed that the loading device of thepresent invention will be found to operate as follows. In order to loadthe device, an ammunition round is brought to the rear of the loadingdevice usually in a handcart (not shown) with the round resting on thetrough of the cart. The edge of the cart trough adjacent to the forwardend of the round is then placed in convenient manner in abutment withthe cradle 11 of the loading device. The round is then manually pushedoff the cart onto the cradle. The forward movement of the round willcause the ogive of the round to engage the retractable stop 31 and forceit downwardly into the sleeve 33. The round is then free to continue tomove forwardly until it is stopped by the concave surfaces of the fingerl9 andthe tray 11 at the forward end of the cradle. Once the base 41 ofthe round passes over the retractable stop, the retractable stop isreleased and will be forced outwardly of the sleeve to prevent the roundfrom sliding backward. During this operation the forward impact forceapplied to the finger and cradle is absorbed by the 2 compressionsprings 59 on the cradle pivotal axis. When it is desired to deliver ortransfer the round to the ramming device at the rear of the gun, amember of the gun crew pulls backwardly on the handle 77 therebywithdrawing the upper and lower rods or shafts 61, 63 attachedtheretofrom engagement with the finger and cradle respectively. The finger andcradle are, therefore, free to rotate about the respective pivotal axesand the weight of the round is sufficient to overcome the force of thecradle return spring 43 thereby to rotate the cradle and round towardthe delivery position. In the delivery position, the round is free toroll off the cradle onto the rammer trough due to the free- I dom ofmovement of the finger which no longer prevents lateral movement of theround on the cradle.

Once the round is delivered to the rammer trough tension of the cradlereturn spring 43 will influence the crade to its normal load-receivingposition and the finger spring 23 will influence the finger to itsnormal load-receiving position. When the cradle reaches theload-receiving position, the shafts of the releasable locking means willbe urged forwardly by the springs 79, 81 to dispose the ends of theshafts into the openings pro vided in the cradle and the finger therebylocking the apparatus in condition for receiving the next round.

It will, be apparent from the above description to persons skilled inthe art that the disclosed invention provides an efficient arrangementfor transferring a relatively heavy mass from one position to another.By employing the weight of the mass to effect movement of the devicefrom one position to another, the apparatus is rendered semiautomatic.those persons skilled in the 'art that the arrangement is capable ofadaptation to applications other than the particular ordnanceapplication herein disclosed. Therefore, it is desired that the presentinvention shall not be limited except insofar asis made necessary by theprior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: l. A loading device for transferring a mass from areceiving position to a delivery position comprising a tray pivotallymounted for oscillating movement between a receiving position and adelivery position, the pivotal,

axis of said tray being disposed beneath said tray and parallel to thelongitudinal axis thereof, the center of gravity of said tray beingdisposed on that side of the It will also be apparent to tray pivotalaxis toward said delivery position, resilient means connected with saidtray for normally biasing said tray to the receiving position,releasable locking means connected with said tray for controllingmovement there of, and movement of said tray toward the deliveryposition being responsive to the release of said tray for movementthereof solely under the influence of the weight of the mass.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 and wherein said loading deviceincludes a finger pivotally carried by said tray and disposed in aposition to limit forward and lateral movement of the mass on the tray,and wherein said locking means is connected also with said finger in amanner to effect release of said finger and said tray.

3. The inventionas defined in claim 2 and wherein the pivotal connectionfor said tray includes buffer means for absorbing shock imparted whileloading said mass on said tray.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 and wherein said loading deviceincludes means carried by said tray constituting a stop to preventbackward movement of said mass after being loaded on said tray.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein said stop means ismounted for slidable movement relative to said tray, said stop meansbeing disposed retractable from said tray in response to loading saidmass on said tray.

6. A device for transferring ammunition from a receiving point to theloading axis of a gun comprising a cradle pivotally mounted for swingingmovement in directions transverse to the loading axis with the pivotalaxis of said cradle disposed parallel to said loading axis, said cradlebeing so disposed that the center of gravity thereof is located on thatside of a vertical plane extending through the cradle pivotal axistoward the loading axis and above a horizontal plane extendingthroughthe cradle pivotal axis, means carried by said cradle limiting movementof the ammunition while disposed on said cradle, resilient meansconnected with said'cradle for biasing said cradle to a normalammunition receiving position remote from the loading axis, andreleasable locking means connected with said cradle for controllingpivotal movement of said cradle.

7. The invention as defined in claim 6 wherein said limiting meansincludes a finger pivotally carried by said cradle and disposed toengage the outer surface of the ammunition in a manner to limit forwardand lateral movement of the ammunition on the cradle and a retractablestop on said cradle for limiting rearward movement of the ammunitionwhile on the cradle, and wherein said releasable locking means includesmeans connected with said finger for release of said finger and saidcradle.

8. The invention as defined in claim 7 and wherein the pivotalconnection of said cradle includes buffer means for absorbing shockimparted while loading said ammunition on said cradle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,138,149 Reichard May 4, 1915 1,332,763 Schneider Mar. 2, 19202,851,928 Hultgren et al Sept. 16, 1958 V FOREIGN PATENTS 17,610 GreatBritain Of 1902

